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shall exult in their throat", "and a two-edged sword in their hands". They have two-edged swords in their hands. They also have one "upon the thigh". And since the drama is a wedding song about a bride and bridegroom's wedding, he says he wants to show that those around the bridegroom 292 are chaste, and he says that they have a sword upon their thigh, circumcising shameful desires. 4 You have turned all his bed in his sickness. This he says: He has not given a brief healing to the one who was greatly sick, but "all his bed" He turned from sickness, so that he might no longer be sick, but might be healthy, as I said concerning the paralytic. You will also say concerning Lazarus, who had an ulcerated body, that when he was carried from hence by the angels, all his bed was turned, all his sickness. He was no longer lying sick. For then he tarried in the bosom of Abraham. 5 I said: O Lord, have mercy upon me. Then he says that what is in our power cooperated in being rescued from the bed of sickness and being helped from the couch of pain; for I did this, "I said: O Lord, have mercy upon me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against You." You see that when he sinned, then he was sick and then he was cast upon a bed and a couch. When someone, therefore, knows the one who is able to rescue, he will obtain what he seeks, similarly to: "I will, be thou clean," "Arise, take up thy bed, and walk." "I" therefore "said" this: "O Lord, have mercy." By saying, "O Lord, have mercy upon me," I showed that I could not have mercy on myself. 5 heal my soul, for I have sinned against You. Against You I have sinned. Thus, nearly all of us sin against God, being ignorant of many things concerning Him, overlooking many things that must be done according to His laws. "I have sinned" therefore "against You," but by saying "O Lord, have mercy upon me," I obtained the object of my request. 6 My enemies spoke evil things against me: When will he die, and his name perish? They said this psalm is spoken from the person of the Savior according to His human nature. And since the Jews became His enemies, as traitors of the truth, those who did not understand the one who had come among them, and Judas also became one, though being one of the disciples, he speaks about the enemies who had come against Him, sometimes in the singular, referring the word to Judas, the leader of the betrayal, and sometimes in the plural because of those who followed him and killed Jesus. And this happens not only here, but also in the one hundred and eighth psalm it is said: "they have spoken against me with a deceitful tongue and have compassed me about with words of hatred. Instead of loving me, they slandered me, but I prayed; and they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. Set a sinner over him, and let the devil stand at his right hand"—this he says in the singular about Judas—; "when he is judged, may he go out condemned, and let another take his office." Sometimes, therefore, he speaks about Judas, and sometimes about those who were of the same mind with him, and for this reason in the same verses sometimes he speaks in the singular, sometimes in the plural. And so here he says: "My enemies spoke." This they have said: the evil things, which they consider evil, they spoke against me: "When will he die, and his name perish?" For they thought that when Jesus died His teaching and the report concerning Him would be extinguished, and they said: "When will he die?" But the opposite of what they thought came to pass. His name did not shine so brightly when He lived and was in this life as when He was crucified and was taken up. But for a spiritual interpretation, this must be understood concerning other heretics; for as many as do not think rightly, but say deceptive and impious things about the Savior, they are the ones who spoke evil things against Him. And since there is a certain leader of the heresies, the liar or even his suggester, the devil, for this reason he also speaks in the singular about such a one. Query: Did the Savior's soul then sin? - His soul 293 is every virtuous soul, not when it sins. As we say of God

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ἀγαλλιάσονται ἐν τῷ λάρυγγι αὐτῶν", "καὶ ῥομφαίαν δίστομον ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτῶν". ῥομφαίας διστόμους̣ ἔχουσιν ἐν τα̣ῖς χερσίν. ἔχουσιν δὲ καὶ "ἐπὶ μηρόν". καὶ ἐπεὶ ἐπιθαλάμιόν ἐστιν τὸ δρᾶμα περὶ νυ´̣μφης καὶ νυμφίου γάμων τοὺς̣ περὶ τὸν νυμφίον 292 σώφρονας λέγει θέλει δεῖξαι καὶ λέγει, ὅτι ἐπὶ τὸν μηρὸν ἔχουσιν ῥομφαίαν περιτέμνοντες τὰς αἰσχρὰς ὀρέξεις. 4 ὅλην τὴν κοίτην αὐτοῦ ἔστρεψας ἐν τῇ ἀρρωστίᾳ αὐτοῦ. τοῦτο λέγει· οὐ βραχεῖαν τῷ μεγάλα νοσήσαντι ἴασιν δέδωκεν, ἀλλ' "ὅλην τὴν κοίτην αὐτοῦ" ἔστρεψεν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρρωστίας, ἵνα μηκέτι ἀρρωστῇ, ἀλλ' ὑγιαίνῃ, ὡς εἶπον περὶ τοῦ παραλυτικοῦ. ἐρεῖς δὲ καὶ περὶ τοῦ Λαζάρου τοῦ εἱλκωμένον ἔχοντος σῶμα ὅτι, ὅτε μετηνέχθη ἐντεῦθεν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγγέλω̣ν, ὅλη ἡ κοίτη αὐτοῦ ἐστράφη, ὅλη ἡ ἀρρωστία αὐτοῦ. οὐκέτι ἀρρώστως ἐβέβλητο. εἰς κόλπους γοῦν τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ λοιπὸν διέτριβεν. 5 ἐγὼ εἶπα Κύριε, ἐλέησόν με. λοιπὸν λέγει ὅτι· συνήργησεν τὸ ἐφ' ἡμῖν τῷ ῥυσθῆναι ἀπὸ τῆς κοίτης τῆς α᾿̣ρρωστίας καὶ βοηθηθῆναι ἀπὸ τῆς κλίνης τῆς ὀδύνης· ἐγὼ γὰρ τοῦτο ἐποίησα, "ἐγὼ εἶπα Κύριε, ἐλέησόν με· ἴασαι τὴν ψυχήν μου, ὅτι ἥμαρτόν σοι". ὁρᾷς ὅτι, ὅτε ἡμάρτησεν, τότε ε᾿̣ν̣όσ̣ει καὶ τότε ἐβέβλητο ἐπὶ κοίτης̣ καὶ κλίνης. ὅταν τις οὖν γνῷ τὸν δυνάμενον ῥυσθῆναι, τεύξεται τοῦ σπουδαζομένου, παραπλησίως τῷ· "θέλω, καθαρίσθητι", "ἔγειρε, ἆρον τὸν κράβακτόν σου καὶ περιπάτει". "ἐγὼ" οὖν τοῦτο "εἶπα Κύριε, ἐλε´̣ησον". διὰ τοῦ εἰπεῖν· "κύριε, ἐλέησόν με", ἔδειξα ὅτι ἐμαυτῷ οὐκ ἠδυνάμην ἐλεηθῆναι. 5 ἴασαι τὴν ψυχήν μου, ὅτι ἥμαρτόν σοι. σοὶ ἥμαρτον. οὕτω πλησίον σχεδὸν πάντες ἁμαρτάνομεν εἰς θεὸν πολλὰ ἀγνοο̣ῦντες τῶν περὶ αὐτοῦ, πολλὰ παρο ρῶντες τῶν κατὰ τοὺς νόμους αὐτοῦ δεῖ ποιεῖν. "ἥμαρτον" οὖν "σοι", ἀλλὰ ε̣ἰπὼν "Κύριε, ἐλέησόν με", ἔσ̣χ̣ο̣ν τὸ τῆς αἰτήσεως. 6 οἱ ἐχθροί μου εἶπον κακά μοι Πότε ἀποθανεῖται, καὶ ἀπολεῖται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ; ἔλεγον τὸν ψαλμὸν τοῦτον ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ σωτῆρος κατὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον λέγεσθαι. καὶ ἐπεὶ ἐχθροὶ αὐτοῦ γεγόνασιν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι οἷον προδόται τῆς ἀληθείας, οἱ μὴ νοήσαντε̣ς τὸν ἐπιδημήσαντα, γέγονεν δὲ καὶ ὁ Ἰούδας εἷς τῶν μαθητῶν ὑπάρχων, περὶ τῶν ἐχθρῶν λέγει τῶν κατ' αὐτοῦ ἐπεληλυθότων ὁτὲ μὲν ἑνικῶς εἰς τὸν Ἰούδα ἀνάγων τὸν λόγον τὸν ἔξαρχον τῆς προδοσίας, ὁτὲ δὲ πληθυν̣τικῶς διὰ τοὺς ἀκολουθοῦντας αὐτῷ καὶ ἀναιρήσαντας τὸν Ἰησοῦν. οὐκ ἐνταῦθα δὲ μόνον τοῦτο γίνεται, ἀλλὰ κ̣αὶ ἐν τῷ ἑκατοστῷ ὀγδόῳ ψαλμῷ λέγεται· "ἐλάλησαν κατ' ἐμοῦ γλώσσῃ δολίᾳ καὶ λόγοις μίσους ἐκύκλωσάν με. ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀγαπᾶν με ἐνδιέβαλλόν με, ἐγὼ δὲ προσηυχόμην· καὶ ἔθεντο κατ' ἐμοῦ κακὰ ἀντὶ ἀγαθῶν καὶ μῖσος ἀντὶ τῆς ἀγαπήσεώς μου. κατάστησον ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἁμαρτωλόν, καὶ διάβολος στήτω ἐκ δεξιῶν αὐτοῦ"- τοῦτο ἑνικῶς περὶ Ἰούδα λέγει-· "ἐν τῷ κρίνεσθαι αὐτὸν ἐξέλθοι καταδεδικασμένος, καὶ τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν αὐτοῦ λαβέτω ἕτερος". ὁτὲ μὲν οὖν περὶ τοῦ Ἰούδα, ὁτὲ δὲ περὶ τῶν ὁμοφρονησάντων αὐτῷ λε´̣γει, κ̣αὶ διὰ το̣ῦτο ἐν τοῖς αὐτοῖς στίχοις ὅπου μὲν ἑνικῶς, ὅπου δὲ πληθυντικῶς. καὶ ὧδε οὖν λέγει· "οἱ ἐχθροί μου εἶπον". τοῦτο εἴρηκαν· τ̣ὰ κακά, ἃ νομίζουσιν κακά, κατ' ἐμοῦ εἶπον· "πότε ἀποθανεῖται, καὶ ἀπολεῖται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ"; ἐνόμισαν γάρ, ὅτι ἀποθανόντος τοῦ Ἰησοῦ σβέννυται αὐτοῦ ἡ διδασκαλία καὶ ἡ περὶ αὐτοῦ φήμη, κα̣ὶ ἐ´̣λεγον· "πότε ἀποθανεῖται"; τοὐναντίον δὲ ἀπέβη ᾧ ἐνόμισαν. οὐχ οὕτως τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ διέλαμψεν ὅτε ἔζη καὶ ἐν βίῳ ἦν ὡς ὅτε ἐσταυρώθη καὶ ἀνελήμφθη. πρὸς δὲ ἀναγωγὴν περὶ ετερ τῶν ἑτεροδόξων τοῦτο λημπτέον· ὅσοι γὰρ οὐκ ὀρθῶς φρονοῦσιν, ἀλλὰ ἀπατώμενα καὶ ἀσεβῆ λέγουσιν περὶ τοῦ σωτῆρο̣ς, ἐκεῖνοι εἶπον κατ' αὐτοῦ κακά. καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἔστιν τις ἔξαρχος τῶν αἱρέσεων, ὁ ψευδοσλόγος ἢ καὶ ὁ ὑποβολε̣ὺς αὐτο̣ῦ διάβολος, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἑνικῶς λέγει περὶ τοῦ τοιούτου. ἐπερ · ἡ τοῦ σωτῆρος οὖν ψυχὴ ἥμαρτε̣ν̣; - ψυχ̣ὴ αὐ293 τοῦ ἐστιν πᾶσ̣α̣ ἡ σπουδαία, οὐχ ὅταν ἁμαρτάνῃ. ὡς λέγομεν θεοῦ